3D Printing

Hot Pop Factory turns people into 3D-printed Pez dispensers

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Hot Pop Factory used a Makerbot 3D printer and a Kinect to create Pez dispensers modeled after an individual person's head
Using 3D capturing software from ReconstructMe and an Xbox Kinect sensor, the designers were able to quickly make the 3D models they needed
The team had to make a few adjustments to the models so they would fit onto a Pez dispenser and actually push the chalky candy out as intended
To build the plastic candy holders, Hot Pop Factory first had to scan each person's head to form a model for the 3D printer
After creating the 3D models, it was just a matter of printing all 32 heads out with a Makerbot Replicator and attaching them to decapitated Pez dispensers
Hot Pop Factory decided to construct the Pez dispensers after it was approached by a client to make a unique holiday gift for an entire office staff
Hot Pop Factory decided to construct the Pez dispensers after it was approached by a client to make a unique holiday gift for an entire office staff
As you can imagine, the employees were very happy with their candy-toting replicas
As you can imagine, the employees were very happy with their candy-toting replicas
After creating the 3D models, it was just a matter of printing all 32 heads out with a Makerbot Replicator and attaching them to decapitated Pez dispensers
Hot Pop Factory used a Makerbot 3D printer and a Kinect to create Pez dispensers modeled after an individual person's head
After creating the 3D models, it was just a matter of printing all 32 heads out with a Makerbot Replicator and attaching them to decapitated Pez dispensers
Hot Pop Factory used a Makerbot 3D printer and a Kinect to create Pez dispensers modeled after an individual person's head
To build the plastic candy holders, Hot Pop Factory first had to scan each person's head to form a model for a 3D printer
Using 3D capturing software from ReconstructMe and an Xbox Kinect sensor, the designers were able to quickly make the 3D models they needed
A 3D-printing enthusiast named Tony Buser had previously made an impressive batch of personalized Pez dispensers, so Hot Pop Factory set to work using some similar methods
A 3D-printing enthusiast named Tony Buser had previously made an impressive batch of personalized Pez dispensers, so Hot Pop Factory set to work using some similar methods
After printing the heads with a Makerbot Replicator, the final step was to attach them to some decapitated Pez dispensers
After printing the heads with a Makerbot Replicator, the final step was to attach them to some decapitated Pez dispensers
Buser had to make a few adjustments to the models so they would fit onto a Pez dispenser and actually push the chalky candy out as intended
Buser had to make a few adjustments to the models so they would fit onto a Pez dispenser and actually push the chalky candy out as intended
Each individual person was scanned using an Xbox Kinect and the ReconstructMe software
Each individual person was scanned using an Xbox Kinect and the ReconstructMe software
A 3D-printing enthusiast named Tony Buser had previously made an impressive batch of personalized Pez dispensers, so Hot Pop Factory set to work using some similar methods
After printing the heads with a Makerbot Replicator, the final step was to attach them to some decapitated Pez dispensers
A 3D-printing enthusiast named Tony Buser had previously made an impressive batch of personalized Pez dispensers, so Hot Pop Factory set to work using some similar methods
View gallery - 25 images

What could be better than a 3D-printed model of yourself? The answer of course is a 3D-printed model of yourself filled with candy. That's exactly what Hot Pop Factory recently made, when it created several working Pez dispensers fashioned after individual people's heads.

Hot Pop Factory typically produces jewelry and experiments with 3D printing, but decided to construct the Pez dispensers after it was approached by a client to make a unique holiday gift for an entire office staff. A 3D-printing enthusiast named Tony Buser had previously made an impressive batch of personalized Pez dispensers, so the company set to work using some similar methods.

To build the plastic candy holders, Hot Pop Factory first had to scan each person's head to form a model for a 3D printer (the employees were told it was for a research project, to avoid spoiling the surprise). Using 3D capturing software from ReconstructMe and an Xbox Kinect sensor, the designers were able to quickly make the 3D models they needed and then clean them up using the MeshMixer tool from Autodesk.

The team also had to make a few adjustments to the models so they would fit onto a Pez dispenser and actually push the chalky candy out as intended. From there, it was just a matter of printing all 32 heads out with a Makerbot Replicator and attaching them to decapitated Pez dispensers.

To build the plastic candy holders, Hot Pop Factory first had to scan each person's head to form a model for a 3D printer

As you can imagine, the employees were very happy with their candy-toting replicas. Unfortunately, barring a trip to Hot Pop Factory's office in Toronto to get yourself scanned, you probably won't be able to order a Pez dispenser bearing your visage anytime soon. Still, this is one of the more entertaining examples of what's possible as 3D printing technology becomes more widespread.

Check out the video below to see the scanning process for creating a Pez dispenser of a person's head.

Source: Hot Pop Factory, Tony Buser

View gallery - 25 images
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2 comments
Paul Anthony
Forget the rest, just tell me how can I scan like that!
chuck.a.knight@gmail.com
Could I order a Trump Pez dispenser? How much do they run?